Mindfulness is based on a Buddhist concept where we focus on our own awareness, our thoughts and feelings, and sensations in the moment with acceptance.  In today's busy world where distractions divide our attention in every direction, disengaging from all that can be a challenge. So how can we turn off disruptions and tune into mindfulness? Start by setting aside few minutes a day. It can greatly reduce our stress and allow us the space to reconnect with ourselves with how we feel and what we are doing. Practicing mindfulness is an easy thing to do if we learn techniques like focusing on our breathing, our inner thoughts, our feelings, and how our bodies are moving in our surroundings.

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• This 1 Minute Box Breathing Box helps you focus visually on breathing in and out for daily calm while training yourself how to self mediate. Take a deep breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and a deep breath out for 4 seconds. This exercise can be accomplished just about anytime, anywhere. 
• Take a Deep Breath is a deep breathing exercise focusing on the sensations of deeply breathing in and out of the body. Follow allow with this 3 minute video to focus on your deep breath.
• Learn to Belly Breathe with Rosita this youtube video features Rosita from Sesame Street. Rosita knows it can be frustrating staying inside all the time because she feels the same way too! Luckily, her mommy taught her how belly breathing can help calm her emotions. Take a deep breath and learn to belly breathe with Rosita!

• Breathe Like a Bear is a dvd in the Children's Library that's an illustrated collection of mindfulness exercises is designed to teach kids techniques for managing their bodies, breath, and emotions. Best of all, these thirty simple, short breathing practices and movements can be performed anytime, anywhere. For ages 3-8.

• Mindfulness Meditation with Deep Breathing is an Eaudiobook guiding you from start to finish on how to control your breath. Begin with your current state of stress and bring you to a relaxed state of calm awareness, where you will be able to relax your breathing while finding stress relief and inner solitude through the relaxing soundtrack. 
• Mindfulness in the Moment is a curated blog post developed by a CPL librarian. 

• The Mindful Vegan is an Eaudiobook available on Hoopla by a certified mindfulness and meditation facilitator, Lani Muelrath. The author provide simple techniques you can apply to change patterns of unhealthy eating into making more beneficial, healthy food choices.
• The Mindful Maker is book full of meditative craft projects to help you focus on mindful creativity ro help you engage your sense of touch with a craft project. Our brain receives so much information when we connect with our world through touch. Touch is textual and tactile. Crafting is a perfect way to focus on the moment at the same time as expressing our creativity through textures. 
• Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation is a hands-on guide showing how essential oils can support and enhance meditative and mindful practices. Essential oils and calming scents can help regulate mood and bring about a sense of peace, comfort, or help with attention and focus. Adding essential oils to a mindful breath practice can help anchor our attention to our breath using our sense of smell and touch. 
•  Mindful Listening is part of a series of books for practicing how we can be more empathetic and engaged when we focus on becoming a better listener. We're not just receiving auditory information, but feeling it, relating to it, and understanding how it is affecting us in the moment. 

• Mindfulness Goes Mainstream is a PBS documentary addressing mindfulness and its many benefits to mind and body. Watch and learn techniques from some of the nation's leading experts who will teach you how to focus your attention in a brand new way.

• Walking Meditation is an ebook from Hoopla that guides is an in-depth instructional program in this serene spiritual practice to help you walk with presence and peace of mind whether in nature or on a busy city street. As you step, notice the feelings of your feet slowly walking, feeling the sensations of the heel, mid-foot, ball of the foot, and the toes. 
• Mandala Zentangle is an ebook on Hoopla describing the Zentangle method, which is is a fun, easy, and accessible way of drawing beautiful, structural patterns that occur in nature through mindfulness. The process of creating the patterns has a calming effect on the mind and the ease of access means that it can be achieved by anyone, at any time to bring the mind to a more peaceful, productive state.
• A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh is an ebook on Hoopla offering life lessons grounded in the simple act of slowing down, observing what is around us, and being present in our lives moment by moment. In our frantic world, who better to guide readers through this transformative practice than a long-beloved bear who has perfected the art of simply being and who just happens to live in the woods? 
• Relaxing Nature Sounds is an Emusic resource available for instant downloading on Hoopla. Listen to tranquil, relaxing sounds of nature during your meditation practice.
• Meditations on the Trail is a book offering a rich array of do-anywhere meditations that will help you explore and deepen your connection to nature, and yourself, in new ways, making the most of your time on the trail.
• Guided Meditations on Hoopla is a curated blog post developed by a CPL librarian.
• Meditative Benefits of Walking is a curated blog post developed by a CPL librarian.

• Calm: Mindfulness for Kids is an activity book for teaching mindful techniques to children. Help your kids learn how to focus their thoughts and notice the world around them. For ages 6-9.
• Follow Your Breath: a First Book of Mindfulness is a picture book teaching children how to incorporate mindfulness into their lives, children gain lifelong coping skills they can use to stay physically and mentally healthy. All the facts in the book have been reviewed by a mindfulness expert. For ages 4-7. 
• I am Peace, a Book of Mindfulness is a picture book about a worried child learning to focus on mindfulness through imagination by taking a breath, steadying, observing thoughts, feeling kindness, feeling thankful, and experiencing the world. For ages 3 and under. 
• Calm Monsters, Kind Monsters: a Sesame Street Guide to Mindfulness is a book for featuring Sesame Street characters discussing breathing, positive self talk, and calming down--mindfulness. Young readers learn simple solutions like belly breathing to help kids cope with what they're feeling. For ages 4-8.
• Already a Butterfly is a picture book about a very busy butterfly who spends her day hurrying and worrying. She finds her own "quiet place" after learning about meditation and mindfulness from a flower bud. For ages 5-9.

• Head back to the 62 Days of Summer home page for more ways to participate in the summer program!
• Visit Reset Brain & Body in Plymouth, MI for services specializes in combining mental health talk therapy and the scientific benefits of the mind-body connection to address your mental well-being holistically.
• Join our Calming Crafts online program on Tuesday, August 3 at 7:00pm. Registration required. 
• Check out Easy Dot Art Mandala Rock Painting video for step by step instructions on how to paint this beautiful, happy, rainbow dot art mandala stone using only a Chapstick lid, toothpick, Q-tip, and pencil eraser as your tools. This is a fun and easy project to make while you meditate.